The day after: Austin Lotz’s 65 saves

Let’s take a moment to reflect on Silvertips goaltender Austin Lotz’s amazing 65-save performance Wednesday night in Everett’s 4-3 overtime loss at Kamloops. First off, here’s the video highlights from the game. Needless to say, there’s quite a few Lotz saves featured.

– The 65 saves shattered the Everett franchise record for saves in a game. The previous record was 55 by Kent Simpson on Jan. 6, 2012 against Portland.

– Lotz’s previous personal record for saves in a game? That just happened to come in his WHL debut when he made 50 against Saskatoon on Oct. 14, 2011.

– The 65 saves, which all came in regulation, were just seven short of the WHL record for saves in regulation. Chilliwack’s Lucas Gore stopped 72 shots against Spokane on Mar. 16, 2011.

– Despite this, Lotz was somehow deemed only worthy of third-star honors last night at the arena. Kamloops Daily News sports editor Gregg Drinnan had a different take (check his notes at the end of the story).

– I’ve talked to a few people who were at the game, including Lotz, and he wasn’t forced into a lot of spectacular saves. However, he had to deal with a lot of traffic, and he faced 12 Kamloops power plays. Lotz mentioned that killing penalties is particularly draining for a goalie because of all the lateral movement required.

– Lotz was given today off from practice. If ever someone earned a day off, this was it.